Scores of young Canadian actors have been given a chance to shine with regular leading roles or special guest appearances in a variety of youth-oriented tv series produced by Montreal’s Telescene Film Group.

This season, a number of young Canadian actors appearing in two series, Live Through This and Big Wolf on Campus, are among those who have made outstanding contributions.

Telescene is shooting 13 one-hour episodes of the drama series Live Through This through to October. The show has been presold to mtv in the u.s. and ytv in Canada. Telescene has international rights.

The series chronicles the adventures of five teens, aged 16 to 20, on the road with their parents, members of a reunited ’70s pop band.

‘The kids are very much drawn from today’s culture,’ says Anita Simand, head of creative affairs at Telescene.

For this show, Simand managed auditions with literally hundreds of hopeful young actors in five cities. The experience took several months.

Experience was an absolute prerequisite – this was not a getting-started opportunity – and all of the actors ultimately chosen have substantial resumes.

‘It’s an ensemble [production] and the roles are demanding, [requiring] someone who can convey drama and humor and look realistic for their age group,’ says Simand.

Besides acting range and general thespian skills, Simand was also looking for ‘charisma and someone who the camera adores.’

At the end of the day, physicality also came into play, because the kids had to, to some extent, resemble their parents. The show’s target audience is in the 14-to-25 range.

Three of the show’s five offspring are Canadians.

Jane McGregor, who plays Darby, hails from Vancouver and has worked on many tv movies, including The Patty Duke Story for cbs, Our Guys for abs, Two of Hearts for Fox Family Channel and Noah for Disney.

Jessica Welch plays Olivia and is from Montreal. She’s a talented singer and dancer and has worked on three Telescene series, Big Wolf on Campus, Student Bodies and Misguided Angels. She has also worked on the Cinar series Are You Afraid of the Dark? and the French-track children’s show Betes pas Bete for Radio-Canada. Welch also has extensive film experience.

Sarah Manninen, who plays Lou, is from Toronto. She trained at the Oxford School of Drama in England and is a graduate of the George Brown Theatre School in Toronto. tv credits include The Unicorn Secret for nbc, Real Kids Real Adventures for Discovery, Dear America for hbo, Code Name Eternity for Global and Jonovision, cbc’s award-winning youth series.

The show’s two other teen characters are portrayed by u.s. actors, Matthew Carey and Tom Lock, the latter with guest appearances on Law & Order (nbc) and Savatage, produced for MTV Video.

The four aging rocker parents all hail from Canada – Toronto-based Jennifer Dale, and three Montreal-based actors, David Nerman, Bruce Dinsmore and Ron Lea.

Standard to tv, Simand says rushes are couriered to mtv on a daily basis. ‘The comments we have received from the network have been equally pleased and proud.’

Syndication prospects

for Big Wolf

Another Telescene showcase for young talent is the teen sitcom Big Wolf on Campus, which recently wrapped its second season, bringing production to 44 half-hours. New production later this summer will bring the total to the ‘magic’ syndication mark of 65 episodes. The series is seen on ytv in Canada and Fox Family Channel in the u.s.

The central character is Tommy, a campus big-shot played by American actor Brandon Quinn. Only his very closest friends know the excitable Tommy has been turned into a werewolf.

Big Wolf features six Canadian regulars, including two twentysomething series leads, Montreal actor Aimee Castle, who plays Lori, and Toronto-based Danny Smith as Merton. Lori is terrific in martial arts while Merton is the gang’s black-arts r&d specialist. As Tommy ‘wolfs-out,’ the three friends take on the forces of darkness.

Natalie Vansier, a young Montrealer, plays Danny’s sister Becky. ‘She’s a riot, an absolute gem,’ says Simand.

‘I would keep my eye on Aimee Castle and Danny Smith. I think they have long careers ahead of them in this acting business,’ says Simand. ‘Week in and week out, Danny Smith hits home runs. He has phenomenal comic timing, and when you’re making a half-hour sitcom, that is extremely meaningful.’

In the case of Big Wolf, Fox had approval rights on all the major roles, as did Telescene.

‘When you get to the final stages of casting,’ Simand says, ‘it becomes clear which actor is deserving and best embodies the part.’

Simand has done a great deal of casting, but the work is far from complete.

She is currently casting episodic players on Live Through This as well as on Matthew Blackheart, a 22-hour action-fantasy series shooting on location in Montreal this summer. Casting is also underway on The Vikings, an Action Adventure Network movie/pilot to be coproduced with Europe, and on Door to Door, a new live-action, half-hour family series with a touch of animation, licensed in Canada by Family Channel.

‘I have to get my series cast with the best actors I can afford,’ says Simand. ‘I’m not afraid to look for new faces. That part is a joy, when I can give a young person a break, or an older person for that matter.’